Chris Johnson is an RTC Columnist. He can be reached @ChrisDJohnsonn.

The negative side of yesterday’s preview segment, which highlighted one team from each major conference ready to make the leap, are programs that look set to move the other way, to backslide into a less favorable place than the one they ended up in last season. Just as returning players and prized recruiting classes and injury recoveries presage improvement and success (at least theoretically), there are a host of other factors that can just as easily bring a team down. As I mentioned in yesterday’s precede, these factors are awfully tough to predict, because college hoops is an inherently unpredictable sport. Teams don’t always perform quite the way we expect. It happens. Some do, of course, and the following programs – in keeping with yesterday’s theme – represent one team from each power league that appears likely to take a step back in 2012. Not every team on the list is coming off a huge season. Regressing is a relative phenomenon. There are no restrictions on win totals or conference positioning or postseason success . Aside from last season’s truly dour outfits, the league bottom-feeders, everyone is in play.

Big 12 – Baylor

The return of Jackson and arrival of Austin is good news for Baylor, but it will be hard pressed to capture another Elite Eight appearance (Photo credit: Getty Images)

There’s a tendency to fall in love with NBA-bound players. Usually, they offer eye-popping athleticism, at least one or two extremely gifted traits that just plain jump off the screen and the general feeling that this whole college thing is but a mere stopping point along a path to a bigger and more-monied basketball future. These players are extremely fun to watch, if only for the fact that – this applies particularly to elite echelon of one-and-done guys – their time spent on a college hardwood is fleeting. Kentucky has embodied this ethos since hiring John Calipari in 2009. Needless to say, it’s been extremely effective. Now Baylor has adopted that mindset, and for the third straight season, they will have a super-hyped, extremely athletic, NBA-lottery-written-all-over-him big man in their lineup. I need not recount the story of Perry Jones III and the mostly disappointing career he had under Scott Drew. Because Isaiah Austin, the No. 1-ranked center in 2012 and No. 3-ranked overall player, might do it for me. Austin is a McDonald’s All-American with huge upside and potential. He also stands seven-feet tall and only 210 pounds. That’s the portrait of a Perry Jones III redux, only slightly taller. What’s more, scouting reports praise his versatility and his extended range, which is exactly what had scouts and NBA front office types so geeked up about Jones when he made his debut two seasons ago. I’m not saying Austin will be Perry Jones III. He could step on campus, flash a polished offensive game from day one, dominate the low post and exhibit the consistent effort and toughness Jones never developed. It’s just that Austin’s physical and observational profile is so similar to Jones’, and that – however statistically baseless a comparative measure – is reason to worry. If Jones belies this comparison with a monster season, the Bears – who bring back floor leader Pierre Jackson, long-range gunner Brady Heslip, and a cast of effective complementary players — may once again compete at the top of the Big 12. If not, this is an average team, destined for a middle-of-the-pack finish, with an immensely-talented freshman big man.

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Eli Linton is the RTC correspondent for the Summit League. You can follow him on Twitter at @elilinton.

Top Storylines

• Out With The Old, In With The New: As most fans of the conference already know, Southern Utah and Oral Roberts are long gone, which makes this season an interesting one to watch in the Summit League. South Dakota State is the heavy favorite to win this conference, but there is now room for new contenders to fill the void. Replacing teams like Southern Utah and Centenary with South Dakota and Omaha has the potential to create more natural rivalries. But there is still room for more new members and with teams like Oakland and IPFW sniffing around for a new conference, there may be more change ahead for the Summit League.
• Has The Summit Seen Its Best Days? In the past four or five years the Summit League has steadily improved, rising all the way to the 16th-ranked conference in the country. But with the departure of ORU, the talent level has now gone down in the Summit. Outside of Oakland and South Dakota State, there isn’t a nationally competitive team. That the Summit League was unable to keep Oral Roberts around, whether that was by design or not, is going to hurt the conference in the long run. Unless another team can surprisingly rise up and become competitive, the Summit League has likely already seen its best days.

Is This The Year Nate Wolters Gets The National Publicity He Deserves? Leading A Mid-major Favorite In South Dakota State Could Be Enough.

• Naters gonna Nate: Ever since his 34-point beatdown against Washington and the unprecedented run to the NCAA tournament by South Dakota State last season, Nate Wolters has been getting a lot of time in the national spotlight. From CBS Sports to ESPN and everyone in between,basketball writers are jumping on the Wolters bandwagon, and why not? He is the best player the conference, and being the only player in division I to average 20/5/5 last season, he is arguably one of the best players in the country. He overpowers other guards with his 6’4” frame, getting whatever he needs around the rim, although Doug Gottlieb could still use some convincing. DraftExpress writer Joey Whelan already had Wolters as a mid-second round draft pick back in 2011, so you have to think his stock will continue to rise if he has another monster season. The Summit League has gotten a lot of exposure because of the Wolters cult-heroism, and they get a chance to display some more of their talented players as the troop of NBA scouts follow Wolters from city to city. Guys like Nate are helping make the Summit League relevant to the rest of the country.

Reader’s Take I

Predicted Order of Finish 

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And away we go, headfirst into another season heralded by our 2012-13 edition of Thirty Reasons We Love College Basketball, our annual compendium of YouTube clips from the previous season 100% guaranteed to make you wish games were starting tonight. We’ve captured here what we believe were the most compelling moments from last season, some of which will bring back the goosebumps and others of which will leave you shaking your head. Enjoy!

#15 – Where First Time Ever Happens

We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from the 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, and 2011-12 seasons.

1. CBSSports.com has already ranked their top 50 big men and point guards (which our own Kevin Danna had his take on), and yesterday they ranked their top 50 wings. Shabazz Muhammad, even as a true freshman, was ranked as the top wing in America. The next Pac-12 player to make an appearance on the list was Allen Crabbe at #16. Crabbe is a great shooter and will need to step up this year for Cal with the losses of Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kamp, but he’s ranked in the right spot on this list. Solomon Hill comes in at #21, while J.T. Terrell arrives 10 spots later at #31. Hill is arguably Arizona’s best player and should help lead them to a deep postseason run next March. As for Terrell, he’s just one of the numerous transfers for Troy, but he looks like a completely different player than the one at Wake Forest as he’s no longer so one-dimensional. Finishing the list for the Pac-12 is Washington’s C.J. Wilcox at #46, who has big shoes to fill. With Washington losing both Tony Wroten and Terrence Ross, Wilcox will have to come out of the gate shooting and scoring to keep the Huskies afloat in the Pac-12.
2. Shabazz Muhammad is still ineligible according to the NCAA, but now there’s even more disappointing news for the Bruins. Muhammad injured his non-shooting shoulder last night during practice. Muhammad underwent an MRI last night and the results are scheduled to come out later today. If Muhammad is seriously injured to the point of having to miss substantial time (assuming he is eligible to play in the first place), it would put a large dent in UCLA’s hopes to win the Pac-12 this season. This preseason continues to just get worse and worse for the Bruins, as their fans wait with bated breath for news on their top recruit.
3. Although Muhammad is now injured and still ineligible, there is some good news for the Bruins. David Wear is trying to return to practice this upcoming Monday. Wear sprained his ankle last Sunday and UCLA will need his presence down low when the season begins. Wear averaged 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and is one of UCLA’s key returning starters along with his brother, Travis Wear. Ultimately, the quicker Wear returns, the better, as the Bruins need as much post play as they can get with the unreliable and unpredictable Josh Smith still on the team. The good news is, by all appearances, he should be back to full strength by the time the season tips off.
4. Colorado’s Tad Boyle doesn’t want his team thinking they’ll have it easy this year. Boyle brought in a former Navy SEAL to train his youthful squad over the next two days. It’s called “The Program” and should be quite the experience for his team, as the workouts include carrying teammates, treading water, and other strenuous activities. It’s another clever move for Boyle as he mentioned multiple times in the article that his team has talent but needs to learn how keep its composure and adapt to the tough road environments they will play in this season. Ultimately, this experience will help the Buffaloes battle through any adversity they face this season because nobody trains more or harder than a SEAL.
5. Roberto Nelson is making some noise in Oregon State practice this week. Head coach Craig Robinson said that he could see Nelson having a breakout season, (which our own Andrew Murawa also has as his breakout guy) and that would bode very well for the Beavers. The head coach has also been impressed with the play of Angus Brandt up front, more good news for Robinson’s long term plans in Corvallis. Robinson hasn’t necessarily struggled as a head coach at Oregon State but he also clearly hasn’t met expectations after some strong early season starts. With the loss of Jared Cunningham to the NBA, Nelson will need to step up if the Beavers want to make a legitimate postseason appearance.

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to discussing the recruitments of the top uncommitted players in the country. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Scott Drew Hauls in Wainright

After making an official visit to the Baylor campus for their “Midnight Madness” festivities nearly two weeks ago, small forward prospect Ishmail Wainright made it official last Thursday evening by verbally committing to the Bears. Wainright, the No. 26 ranked prospect in the ESPN 100, picked Baylor over Ohio State, St. John’s and Texas.

Scott Drew Continues to Pile Up the Top Recruits at Baylor

A Missouri native, the 6’6″ Wainright was formerly a Missouri commitment back in May 2011. At the conclusion of that summer, he decided to reopen his recruitment after a successful AAU campaign. As Wainright began the recruiting process all over again, over 30 of the top schools in the country reached out to the Missouri small forward. With his recent commitment to Baylor, Wainright will join power forward Jonathan Motley as the only two commitments for the Bears from the class of 2013.

When describing Wainright’s overall game, he is a tremendous athlete and one of the most physically imposing small forwards at the high school level. On the offensive end, Wainright does most of his damage scoring around the rim, either in transition or driving to the basket when creating for himself off the bounce. He is also a great passer with even better court vision. He has a knack for making the right play at the right time when creating opportunities for his teammates to make plays. A glaring weakness of his offensive game, however, has been his shooting. Prior to the summer, Wainright was not a good shooter. Most defenses took note of that fact by playing him loosely, forcing him into taking shots from the outside. As exhibited during the early recruiting period in the summer, though, Wainright showed an ever improving jump shot. To round out his game, Wainright needs to make it a point to continue working on his shooting touch before ending up on the Baylor campus. On the defensive end, Wainright is as good as they come. With great length, strength and athleticism, Wainright is arguably one of the best defenders from the class of 2013. He can guard multiple positions on the floor in part due to his great frame. He is a nightmare for the opposition and will continue to be well into his college career.

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1. The CBSSports.com crew was at it again on Wednesday, this time ranking the top 50 wings in the country for this season. UCLA freshman Shabazz Muhammad came in at No 1. ahead of Ohio State’s DeShaun Thomas. The Big 12 has four players on the list, three of whom are in the top 15. Oklahoma State sophomore Le’Bryan Nash (13.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG last season) was No. 7 followed immediately by Kansas redshirt freshman Ben McLemore at No. 8. Rodney McGruder of Kansas State (15.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG) came in at No. 14 and Texas’ Sheldon McClellan (11.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG) rounded out the conference at No. 43. All four players have a shot to lead their respective teams in scoring this year as well as challenge for Big 12 Player of the Year.
2. Andy Glockner unveiled a list of his own on Wednesday. He ranked all 32 Division I conferences and placed the Big Ten on top. The Big 12 showed up on his list at third, one spot behind the Big East. His assessment is spot on to me in that while there’s maybe just one great team — maybe Kansas –– the middle of the pack is tough from Baylor all the way to Oklahoma. TCU and Texas Tech will finish at the bottom and the Jayhawks should win the league again, but it would be hard to argue against any projection of teams in the second through eights positions. Every one of those teams has question marks but every one of them also has a bright spot or two that could lend itself to a good season.
3. Here’s more from Glockner: A strength of schedule breakdown of a handful of teams this season. He liked Kansas‘ slate, saying “The Jayhawks did what Indiana (and others) should have done: load the schedule with home and quasi-home games, but against capable opposition.” KU’s schedule is highlighted with a game at Ohio State, versus Michigan State in Atlanta in the Champions Classic, Colorado, Washington State, and either Texas A&M or Saint Louis in the CBE Classic in Kansas City. Glockner liked Kansas’ schedule, but he loved Texas’ slate. The Longhorns are in the Maui Invitational, they play UCLA in Houston, Georgetown in New York, and face off with North Carolina and Michigan State. Texas Tech’s schedule, on the other hand, is laughed at, and rightly so. They don’t leave the state of Texas until January 16 and play just three power conference schools — Arizona, Arizona State, Alabama — in the non-conference season.
4. Bill Self acknowledged his team’s need to replace the toughness that No. 5 pick Thomas Robinson took with him to Sacramento in a kusports.com article Wednesday. Self told the Lawrence Journal-World‘s Gary Bedore that Robinson “gave us an air of toughness. It made other players think they were really tough or fierce because he led by example.” Self added that his team will miss Robinson’s presence initially but believes he’ll have enough players to fill Robinson’s role by year’s end. It’s hard not to agree with Self with his track record of largely unknown role players becoming productive starters nearly every year. I want to say he’ll hit a bump in the road one of these years and won’t have a group capable of sliding in seamlessly, but I can’t. Eight straight conference titles speaks for itself.
5. Oklahoma State senior Jean-Paul Olukemi is still waiting to hear from the NCAA about his appeal regarding his eligibility. Because he took classes at a junior college in high school, his eligibility began earlier than he realized and is now scheduled to run out after the first semester. “You just hope that people understand that you listen to people who are much older than you and they give you the wrong information because they’re trying to do something to benefit themselves,” Olukemi told the Tulsa World on Tuesday. “I hope they understand it wasn’t something that I did.” Nothing to see here, just case 5,489 of the NCAA potentially hurting a kid’s career over something this silly. Did he take money from an Oklahoma State booster? Did he cheat on a standardized test? No. He took a few college credits in high school. Sure, he should have double- or triple-checked to make sure he was good to go. But the NCAA should realize that neither Olukemi or Oklahoma State gained any athletic advantages in this case. Let the kid play.

Andy Glockner revealed his preseason conference rankings — quite impressively giving nearly as many words to the SWAC as the Big Ten — with the ACC coming in at fifth behind all of the power conferences except the Pac-12 (#8). Glockner’s top two make sense. The Big Ten and Big East both have fewer questions than the other conferences. Also, it’s a safe bet based on the past couple of seasons that those two will be on top of the college basketball totem poll.

Does the National Media Still Doubt Leonard Hamilton?

However, ranking the Big 12, SEC and ACC raises a few more questions. The first issue is weighting the depth of the conference against the quality of the best teams. Is it better to have a strong top or a decent bottom? Both certainly enhance a conference’s standing, but it says here that a strong top is more important. After Kansas, the Big 12 is a mess. It’s true most of those teams will be good, but does one great team (that’s headlined by Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson, and some talented freshmen) make for the third best conference in the country? The SEC is a different story. Kentucky, Missouri and Florida have the potential to be great. Tennessee and Alabama should be good. But are those five better than the ACC’s top five? Also can any fan expect consistent results from Frank Haith?

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1. The Hoosiers’ depth is one of the biggest reasons for their preseason hype and they will need it during the first two months of the season. Indiana forward Derek Elston will miss several weeks of the regular season due to a torn meniscus. Even though Elston only averaged 2.4 RPG last season, he is supposed to be an integral part of Tom Crean’s bench this season. Elston would have backed up Cody Zeller and maybe even played some minutes toward the end of certain games to keep the All-American stay out of foul trouble, but the underclassmen will need to step up now. Hanner Mosquera-Perea will be one of the key freshmen who will need to become a complement to Zeller in the frontcourt during the first few weeks of the year.
2. Tubby Smith has had to deal with a lot of trouble over the last week or so. Dealing with his son and Gopher assistant coach Saul Smith’s DWI is only the latest of his issues. The Minnesota athletic director has made it clear that he rather than Smith would decide the appropriate punishment for Saul Smith’s arrest from last weekend. The younger Smith is currently on unpaid leave until the administration reveals more details about its decision regarding his job and the AD, Norwood Teague, has repeatedly punctuated that this sort of behavior will not be tolerated. Smith is scheduled to appear in the court on December 3 and may face very a charge like fourth-degree DWI which could potentially jeopardize his career in Minneapolis.
3. Great athletes take rehabiliatation very seriously and want to get back to practice as soon as possible. Michigan State’s Branden Dawson is no different, as he has been trying to recover as quickly as possible from his March ACL injury. During his recovery, Dawson has developed a very good relationship with the Spartans’ trainer, Quinton Sawyer, and credits him for an efficient recovery process. Tom Izzo and the trainers believe that Dawson has put in the effort and is ready to come back “from a mental standpoint.” But it will take some time for him to get back into game shape. Freshman guard Gary Harris will need to assume the defensive stopper’s role until Dawson is back to 100% in the Spartan lineup. Assuming that Dawson will be recover completely by mid-January, MSU will be a force once again in early March.
4. John Beilein’s offensive system requires several efficient shooters from beyond the arc. The ball movement needs to be crisp as it leads to open looks as the players are consistently asked to move without the ball. Last season, Zach Novak (41% 3FG) and Stu Douglass (34% 3FG), understood the offensive schemes and were very good shooters from the wing. After their departures, another wing will need to move into that designated role of gunner and it very well might be freshman guard Nik Stauskas. Stauskas may not receive as much recognition as fellow rookies Mitch McGary or Glenn Robinson III, but UMHoops explains why he could play an integral role in the success of the Wolverines this season.
5. Bo Ryan’s Badgers always introduce a new player every season who makes the leap from a nobody to a key contributor. Without consistent production from new players filling in for the departure of stars like Jordan Taylor, Ryan couldn’t have produced all those consecutive winning seasons in Madison. Center Frank Kaminsky might be that player this season as he is expected to have an increased role in the offense. The 6’11” sophomore has spent the offseason trying to lose weight and work on his conditioning with the trainers. He averaged only eight minutes per game last season but will certainly be an important complement to Jared Berggren (10.5 PPG) in the Wisconsin frontcourt. He may not be expected to contribute much offensively but his size will be very important if Wisconsin expects to compete in a conference that features numerous superb big men such as Cody Zeller and Trevor Mbakwe.

1. Kentucky took to the Rupp Arena floor Wednesday night for its annual Blue-White scrimmage. Over 12,000 fans were in attendance, with many more catching the action on Fox Sports Net. The new-look Wildcats put on a high-flying, high-scoring show, but coach John Calipari downplayed the performance. “Folks, let me just say this,” he told fans after the final buzzer, “thanks for being here tonight. Can you see how far we have to go?” This isn’t surprising of course, as Calipari downplaying his team’s level of quality before the season seems to be his modus operandi. Big performances from freshmen Archie Goodwin, Alex Poythress, and Nerlens Noel will dominate headlines, but the upperclassmen showed promise as well. Kyle Wiltjer displayed improved strength and dropped a pretty baby hook over Noel, while transfer Julius Mays showed a quick and accurate trigger from long range. Even Jon Hood, coming off a knee injury, looked energetic and shot the ball efficiently. If one of these older players can step into the leadership role vacated by Darius Miller, Kentucky may not be as far away as their coach believes.
2. Attendence figures have been woeful for South Carolina over the past few seasons, but Frank Martin has designs on quickly changing that. In a meeting with members of the student body on Monday, the new Gamecock coach discussed ideas to increase fan interest. “I’ll make myself available for anything the students want,” he said. “I need you guys in that building.” Martin isn’t the type to shy away from a challenge. In 2007, he took over a Kansas State program that hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in over a decade and promptly led the Wildcats to four bids in six seasons. Turning around a moribund South Carolina program might be even tougher. The overall lack of talent on the roster makes an immediate reversal of fortunes unlikely, but Martin’s willingness to reach out to a jaded fanbase is a step in the right direction.
3. Want to hear what your coach thinks about your team’s chances this season? Your questions will be answered today, as the league’s coaches gather in Hoover, Alabama, for SEC Media Day. The story from last year’s event was the unwavering confidence of Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings, who seemed to take issue with the fact that his team wasn’t being ranked ahead of the inexperienced Kentucky Wildcats. After losing every key contributor from a 25-win team, how will the Commodores’ coach react to this year’s 10^th place prediction for his squad?
4. New LSU coach Johnny Jones got a jump on the Media Day festivities when he addressed local media in Baton Rouge yesterday. “We have really been pleased with the last few days of practice,” said Jones. “Unfortunately, we have had a few players go down with injuries which are somewhat of a little setback. Hopefully, we will get them back on the floor in the near future within the next few days. That would be beneficial for us because of our lack of numbers.” Any hint of injury on an already thin squad is troubling news for LSU fans, since even a full-strength Tiger team won’t win many conference games this season. Jones will be counting on good fortune on the injury front to stay away from the bottom of the standings. If he runs into some bad luck, however, he can ask Andrew Del Piero for help finding practice bodies. A couple of those trombone players looked like they had some size.
5. Details surrounding Billy Gillispie’s dismissal from Texas Tech continue to emerge, and they aren’t pretty. E-mails obtained by USA Today indicate that the former Kentucky coach regularly ignored practice time restrictions, most notably on one October weekend in 2011 when the team “practiced for 7 hours, 15 minutes on Saturday, and 6 hours, 30 minutes on Sunday”. His tenure in the SEC was an unmitigated disaster, and his failed campaign at Texas Tech only highlights how unfit Gillispie was to lead the league’s most prestigious program. It seems unlikely that another school will take a chance on him in the near future (if at all), so when the controversy over his improprieties in Lubbock fades away, we hope that you won’t have to read Gillispie’s name on this site for long, long time.

1. ESPN:  North Carolina will be allowed to leave for its game at Long Beach State (en route to the Maui Invitational) more than 48 hours before tipoff. NCAA rules typically do not allow teams to leave for away games more than 48 hours before its tipoff, but North Carolina was able to lobby to successfully get a waiver (after it had been previously denied) to bypass this rule. This will reportedly save the school up to $120,000, as the team can now fly commercially instead of needing a charter flight.  It is definitely a change to see an off-the-court (or gridiron) headline that does not detail more doom and gloom for the athletics programs over at North Carolina. It is also good to see the NCAA exercising some common sense in this situation.
2. Richmond Times-Dispatch:  Travis McKie is just one of two upperclassmen remaining on Wake Forest’s team, and he is the only one left from his 2010 recruiting class of five. Michael Phillips interviewed McKie recently, finding that his college experience has not been quite what he expected, as he has only won five conference games in his time at Wake Forest. But McKie has definitely learned through the adversity, saying, “I think now I appreciate things more.” The junior and coach Jeff Bzdelik are certainly confident that McKie’s leadership which has developed during his time at Wake Forest (including spending this summer mentoring all of Wake Forest’s freshmen) will get through to his extremely young teammates, and that the team can finally escape the ACC basement as a result.
3. Washington Post:  Freshman Marshall Wood has been a pleasant surprise in practice for Virginia Tech. On a team with just eight scholarship players, coach James Johnson already envisions Wood playing many minutes at the power forward slot, and he was particularly impressed with Wood’s rebounding and outside shooting prowess. This is significant news for the Hokies because Wood, who put up great numbers in high school, was very lightly recruited and his high school competition in rural Virginia was not particularly strong.
4. USA Today:  Andrew Wiggins is the most highly-touted high school player in the class of 2014 (although he is considering reclassifying and graduating this year), and possibly the best in high school regardless of class. Eric Prisbell’s detailed piece covers Wiggins’ growth in maturity since he moved to the United States from his native Canada to play for Huntington (WV) Prep,  previously home to OJ Mayo and Patrick Patterson. Wiggins has long thought to be favoring Kentucky and Florida State (his parents’ alma mater), although North Carolina, along with Kansas and Ohio State, has come into the running recently. Refreshingly, Wiggins is extremely humble and hates all the hoopla (inspired by his idol, Kevin Durant) so much that his coach believes that when Wiggins decides on his college, he will just text him the choice rather than announce it in an ESPNU televised special.  If Florida State could land Wiggins, it would undoubtedly be the biggest recruiting coup in the program’s history.
5. CBS Sports:  Going along with Virginia Tech head coach James Johnson vowing to push the tempo this year, Sean Bielawski decided to take a closer look at the overall tempo stats in the ACC.  The ACC has historically been thought of as one of the higher-scoring, more up-tempo of the major conferences (at least in contrast to the Big Ten, for example), but last year, only one ACC squad, North Carolina, was in the top 75 in the Pomeroy adjusted tempo rankings. Overall, the ACC was ranked fourth out of the six major conferences in terms of average tempo, and 20th out of the 33 Division I conferences (weighed down by Miami, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Virginia, who were all outside the top 250).  If Johnson is true to its word, that could be enough to shift the ACC into the upper half of college basketball in terms of its pace.